Chill Out in Sydney

What does summer conjure up in your mind? Here in Sydney, we think of days at the beach and on the pool deck, chilling out and indulging. No rush, no pressure. No wonder. Expect average daily maximum temperatures of more than 25 degrees Celsius. And it’s not just the weather that will make you want to chill out. 

So how do you chill out in summer in Sydney? It’s so easy, really: long days, balmy nights and gorgeous eating opportunities every way you turn. Fill up your Sydney summer stay with seafood, sushi, ice cream, fresh fruit, salads, icy-cold drinks and a shady place to while away the hours. 

Get hooked

The ocean off the coast of New South Wales provides Sydney – and the rest of the world – with terrific deep-sea species. And Australia’s coastline and bays, including Sydney Harbour, are brimming with fish, molluscs, crustaceans and cephalopods. Our top chefs and fishmongers pick the best of the days’ catch, often dealing directly with the fishermen. Look for local, sustainably caught species including kingfish, yellowfin tuna, Yamba and Clarence River prawns, Western Australia rock lobster, snapper, flathead and Sydney Rock and Pacific oysters. 

Seafood features on the menus of most great restaurants here, so don’t limit yourself to the seafood specialists. Our best chefs treat seafood as they would any other fresh produce: buying the best when it’s available and let that produce star on their seasonal menus. And if you fancy seafood without white tablecloths and top-notch glassware, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to takeaway. Follow the crowds, particularly in harbour and coastal locations and you’ll find a fish and chip shop of note. So pack a couple of glasses, a cold bottle of wine and your appetite and stock up for a slap-up feast at the beach, park or home. 

Summer of sushi

On the subject of super-fresh seafood … Japan’s top chefs don’t have it this good. Sydney chefs can meet their catch at the jetty and some actually do. (The closest Japanese chefs get to seeing the day’s catch come in is to meet it off the flight from Australia.) Anyway, it means we have gorgeous sushi and sashimi. Try some at Yoshii (115 Harrington Street, The Rocks. Tel: 9247 2566), Tetsuya’s (529 Kent Street, Sydney. Tel: 9267 2900), sushi e (Establishment Hotel, 252 George Street, Sydney. Tel: 9240 3000) and Kenji (Opera Kitchen, Lower Concourse, Sydney Opera House, Sydney. Tel: 9247 0480).

Nice and icy

Round off a warm summer night by promenading with gelati or ice cream in hand. No need to feel like a touristy cliché – we do it ourselves, at every opportunity. We take our frozen treats seriously in Sydney, making it our business to know the difference between ice cream and gelati and who makes the best flavours using the freshest and highest-quality ingredients. Incidentally, the difference between ice cream and gelati is mostly fat and air, ice cream having more of both. Here are some you may stumble across that are really worth queuing up for: Gelato Messina (241 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst), for the creations of chef Donato Toce, who you can watch at work; Nice Cream (300 Glenmore Road, Paddington, open Monday-Friday until 4pm only), which supplies several of Sydney’s top restaurants; Passionflower (Capitol Square, 730-742 George Street, Haymarket) for traditional Asian flavours; and if you’re at the beach, take the recommendation of The Foodies’ Guide to Sydney and round out a very Bondi experience of a swim and a Pompei’s pizza with a Pompei’s excellent gelati (126-130 Roscoe Street, Bondi, closed Mondays). 

Wet, wet, wet

Hot days call for cool drinks. Cocktails to cross town for include classics in crystal at Eau-de-Vie (229 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst), the Miramar, including sparkling and pink grapefruit vodka at Gardel’s Bar (358 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, open after the holidays from January 17) and an entire list of off-the-wall names and ingredients at The Flying Squirrel (249 Bondi Road, Bondi).

So fresh

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, cherries, apricots, nectarines, peaches, mango, pineapple, kiwi fruit and more are in season right now. If you want the ultimate just-picked experience, get up early one hot January morning and visit one of the city’s best produce markets. You can grab a coffee, a bite to eat and talk to local producers and fruiterers. For farmers’ markets, visit www.farmersmarkets.org.au but be aware some markets take a break over January. The massive Sydney Markets (www.sydneymarkets.com.au) at Flemington is the city’s wholesale market but everyone’s welcome. Paddy’s Markets (Fresh Food) in Haymarket has a great atmosphere and great produce.

A place in the shade

We’re good at restaurant and café tables on decks, in courtyards, on the street and right up alongside the sand here in Sydney. But if it’s deep shade and verdant green you’re after, there are 4771 trees across 64 hectares at the Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain. That’s a lot of lush, soft lawn and deep, cool shade for picnics on the hottest days of summer. Our suggestion? Load up a picnic basket at the David Jones Food Hall on Market Street (or ask your concierge for somewhere closer to where you’re staying) and wander a few hundred metres east to Hyde Park and then the gardens for a day of lolling, nibbling and sipping. For detailed maps of the gardens to scope your shade trees in advance visit www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au